Switch-operating means.



J. B. HENNIGER 61']. K. GUTHRIE.

SWITCH OPERATING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, l'9l5.

1,265,200. Patented May 7; 1918.

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J. B. HENNIGER 6:]. K. GUTHRIE.

SWITCH OPERATING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 39 1915- 1,265,200. Patented May 7,1918.

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Patented May 7,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 IRUENTDRB JHHENNIBER IIKBUTH RI E UNITED v STATESPATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BROWN HENNIGER AND JOHN KIRBY GUTHRIE, OF PERTH ROAD, ONTARIO,

. CANADA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SWITCH-OPERATING MEANS.

Patented May 7, 1918.

Application filed April 30, 1915. Serial No. 25,086.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN B. HENNIGER and JOHN K. GUTHRIE, citizens ofthe Dominion of Canada, residing at Perth Road, in the county ofAddington, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Switch-Operating Means, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to switch operating means, and is particularlyadapted for use on electric railways, although it may be used on variousother rails over which moving bodies pass such as steam railroads, minecar railroads, etc, i

In describing our invention, we have shown it as used in connection withan electric car. The invention consists of a pair of operating arms oneon each side of the car mounted on suitable operating means underneaththe front portion of the car. A foot lever extends up through the floorof the car near the controller near'which the motorman stands. One ofthese arms when pushed down will come in contact with a dog which issuitably arranged in the track, and which, when struck will operate theswitch from one position to another.

This device can be easily applied to switches already in use and alsothe operating means can be easily applied to practically all cars in useat the present time.

The object of the invention is to provide an easily operative switchingmeans which can be readily attached to switches now in use and which canbe operated with the car in motion.

A further object of the invention is to provide'a switch operating meanswhereby a switch going to right or left of theclirection in which. thecar is moving can be,

opened or'closed as desired without stopping the car,

The invention consists of the novel features hereinafter described andclaimed. In the accompanying drawings I Figure l is a side elevation ofa car with part of our invention attached thereto showing the relationof theoperating means to the dog in the rail.

Fig. 2 is an'enlarged top elevation of the operating means which islocated under the rail, parts being shown in section.

Fig. 3 is the driving rod as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: is a top elevation of a set of tracks and the respectiveposition of the dog to the switch.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the operating parts.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the part which will be attached to theswitch.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the dog.

Fig. 8 is a view of the bottom of the car showing the operating arms onboth sides and the operating parts connecting with the foot lever.

F ig. 9 is a side view on the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view 1010.of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a detail view ofthe fulcrum support of the lever member whichconnects the foot operated lever with the evener.

.In describing our invention, we will first describe the part of ourswitch operating means which is located under the rail. This part islocated under the rail between the lines 1212 as shown in Fig. 4. Itconsists of a bottom plate 13 on which are mounted along the line tlierectangular blocks 14, as shown in Fig.2. 7

The'driving rod 16 has a hinged end 19 at one end, and its other end 20is practically square. The springs 21 tend to pull the driving rod 16 inthe direction of the arrow.

22 is the dog which will be more particularly seen in Fig. 7. This is ofa special design as shown, having the rounded side 23 and the flat face24. The flat face 24 is always turned away from the switch and it isthis face that the operating arms, which will be hereinafter described,strike. The rounded face 23 is adapted to come in contact with the end20 of the driving rod 16. This dog 22 has an orifice 25 and is hinged ona pin 26.

27 is one of the main parts of the device. It is practicallythree-fourths of a circle with cogs as shown more particularly in Fig.5. There are two V-shaped cut out portions 28 and 29 Opposite these arethree cogs 30. On each side we provide a lug 31. Two blocks 32 and 33are secured to the plate 13 through which the ends of the springs 34 and37 pass. These ends of the springs 34 and 37Jare securely held in theblocks 32 and 33 by means of the pins 35 and 36. The springs and 37 whennot in contact with the hinged end 19 of the driving rod 16, will lieagainst the lugs 31. The springs 34 .and 37 are rounded outwardly nearthe ends away from the blocks 32 and 33. It will be seen from Fig. 2that the spring 37 is in contact with the hinged end 19 while the spring34 is incontact with the lug 31.

Now, when the driving rod 16 is pulled-back to its normal position inthe direction of the arrow, the hinged end 19 will be sprung over toengage) in the V-shaped notch 28 by the action of the spring 37. Themember 27 is mounted to turn on a pin 38.

39 is a connecting member which is secured to the lower side of theswitch 45 by means of the pins 40 and 41. is have shown in Fig. 6 oneparticular shape of this part, but it may be made in various shapes andstyles. Some switches come to a very thin point, and this particularshape which we show in Fig, 6 would not be readily adapted to suchswitches. In this case, the end 42 would extend back to the desireddistance, but the end 43 must always be at the end of the switch, nomatter how long the member 39 may be. End 43 is provided with 4 cogs 44into which will mesh the cogs 30 of the member 27. The plate 13,carrying the switch-operating mechanism, is adapted to be attached tothe under side of the rail by any suitable means, as for instance, thebolts shown at 14: in Fig. 2.

Now, we shall explain the operation of this switch throwing arrangement.The car is coming along the track in the usual manner and the motormanwill notice that the switch is not turned in the right direction inwhich he intends going. He will at once put his foot on the lever 46which will bring the end of the operating arm 47 in contact with theface 24 of the dog 22. Now, as the car moves forward, the dog 22 willalso be pushed in a forward direction. The face 23 of the dog 22 willnow come in contact with the end 20 of the driving rod 16 and will pushit in the direction opposite to the arrow. The hinged end 19 will engagein the notch 29 and cause the member 27 to turn on its center pin 38.Now, the cogs 30 will operate and mesh with the cogs 44 and thus, causethe switch to be turned in the direction of arrow A. Now, the car doesnot have to stop at all, but can go straight ahead and the switch isturned in the direction desired. The flange will not come in contactwith the face 24 of the dog 22.

As soon as the operating arm 47 passes over the dog, this forward motionpressure is taken olf and the springs 21 cause the driving rod 16 tocome back in the direction of the arrow to the normal position. Duringthis motion, the hinged end 19 is pulled back past the point 48 of themember 27 and by the action of the spring 37 it is swung across toengage in the V-shaped notch 28. These springs 37 and 34 are preferablymade of flat spring steel, and have their ends 49 and 50 bent around onthe side next the hinged end 1.9.

A second car comes along and if it desires to go in the oppositedirection to the first just mentioned, the motorman puts his foot on thelever 46 in his car which causes the operating arm 47 to engage in theface 24 of the dog 22. The forward motion of the car will then cause thedog 22 to hinge on the pin 26 and the face 23 will come in contact withthe end 20 of the driving rod 16. The hinged end 19 will be in theV-shaped notch 28 and will cause the member 27 to turn on its center pin38 in opposite direction to that previously mentioned. The cogs 30 willagain cause the member 39 to be swung in the direction of the arrow B.As the member 39, is securely attached to the switch, the switch willalso be swung in the direction of the arrow B, thus, you will see thatwithout any further operation, than having the motorman put his foot onlever 46, the switch 45 can be thrown in either direction. The dog 22can be put at any distance away from the switch that may be desired. Allthe change that is necessary in our device is to have the center portionof the driving rod 16 of a longer length. The springs 21 are shown hereas two coil springs and they may be made of any desired shape, and maybe one, two, or more in number, as desired.

Having thus described the part of our invention which throws the switch,we will now describe the operating means which is attached underneaththe front portion of the car, more particularly shown in Figs. 8, 9, and10.- The lever 46 extends through the connected to the member 51. Thismember 5lfihas a leverage on the pair of leverage braces 52, and theother end of member 51 i is connected with the evener 53,which evenerconnects the same with the member 54. This member 54 has divided endswhich extend toward the side of the car as shown at 54. These endsextend out tothe operating arm 47 as shown at 55 and the ends of whichconnect with the eveners 56. These evencrs have their other ends mountedon the pins 57. These pins 57 extend through the operating arm 47 andsupport wheels 58. 59 is a support for the outside of the pin 57' onwhich the wheel 58 revolves. '60 is a U- shaped opening in the operatingarm 47 in which the evener 56 works back and forth. 61 is a blocksecured to the car through which the pins 63 pass. Each pin 63 alsopasses through the end of the operating arm 47 and it is on this pin 63that the operating arm 47 hinges back and forth when put into operation.62 is a spring secured to. the

bottom of the car and preferably secured to;

the member 51 between the ends secured to the foot lever 46 and thepoint of leverage 52.

The wheel 58 allows the end of the operating arm 47 to extend down intothe flange groove only suflicient distance to come in contact with theface 24 of the dog 22, and it will be seen that if for any reason themotorman should put his foot on the foot lever 46 when not near theswitch, it will cause no damage. It will only cause the operating arm 47to have its end turned down toward the track and the wheel 58 will runalong at the top of the rail. The same action will be apparent shouldthe motorman keep his foot on the foot lever 46 after the end of theoperating arm 47 has passed over the dog 22. Thus, we provide a simplearrangement whereby the motorman can operate the device without takingeither hand off the controlling means of the car, and one which willoperate easily and also will operate switches in either direction. Theordinary street cars which are made to run only in one direction willrequire the operating means on the car only at one end, but those carswhich run to the end of their line and reverse their operating means tothe opposite end of the car without turning, will require a foot leverand a set of operating means at both ends of the car, thus, having anoperating arm at each of the 4 corners of the car.

This arrangement will be found of great service in shunting aroundrailway centers. At the present time, several men are employed for eachengine to throw the switches back and forth, but if the herein describedinvention was put into operation,

.the switches could be thrown bythe engineer putting his foot on leversin the engine .cabin.

details of construction herein disclosed,"but i What we claim is, g 1. Aswitch operating means consisting of a switch throwing device locatedunderneath the rail, said switch throwing device consisting of a base, alug attached to the point of the switch rail, a bar slidable in the basemember, asegmental cog mounted on the base and engaging said lug andadapted to be operated by the sliding bar, means on the base for slidingsaid bar, and a tripping device mounted on the car for operating saidbar sliding means. i

2. A switch operating means consisting of a switch throwing devicelocated underneath the rail, said switch throwing device consisting of abase, a lug attached to the point of the switch rail, a geared wheelmounted to oscillate on said base, said lug having suitable gear teethon one side and meshing with the teeth of the geared wheel, means foroscillating said geared wheel and thereby throwing the switch, and meanson the car for operating the means for oscillating the gear wheel.

3. A switch operating means consisting of a switch throwing devicelocated underneath the rail, said switch throwing device consisting of abase, a geared wheel mounted to oscillate on said base, a bar slidableon said base, means on the bar for oscillating said gear wheel, a lugattached to the point of the switch rail, teeth on the lug for engagingthe teeth of the gear wheel, a cam pivoted to thebase and adapted tooperate the said sliding bar, and means on the car for operating saidcam.

4. A switch operating means consisting of a switch throwing devicelocated underneath the rail, said switch throwing device consisting of abase, a lug provided with teeth attached to the point of the switchrail, a wheel provided with teeth mounted to oscillate on said base, andengaging the teeth of the lug, the base, said bar having a lever pivotedat one end for operating said gear wheel, springs mounted on the base oneither side of said pivoted lever and adapted to alternately engagefirst one side and then the other of said lever, a cam pivoted to saidbase and adapted to slide said bar in one direction, a sprin attached tothe sliding bar and the base or returning said sliding a sliding barmounted in bar, and means mounted on the car and adapted to be throwninto engagement with said pivoted cam.

5. A switch operating means consisting of a switch throwing devicelocatednnderneath the rail, said switch throwing device consisting of abase, mechanism attached to the point of the switch rail, oscillatingmechanism mounted on the base and engaging the mechanism on the switchpoint, sliding mechanism mounted on the base and engaging saidoscillating mechansm, piv- 'oted mechanism provided on the base foroperating said sliding mechanism, and

In testimony whereof we afiix our tures in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN BROWVN HENNIGER. JOHN KIRBY GUTH RIE.

Witnesses:

JOHN GUTHRIE, WM. I. CARROLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

signs-

